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Craig Pawson confirmed as Community Shield 2016 referee

The Fifa whistler from Sheffield will be the man in the middle for Manchester United v Leicester City at Wembley on August 7.

International: Pawson became England’s seventh Fifa representative in January 2015 and has since refereed numerous Europa League games (Picture from Sky Sports)

CRAIG Pawson will referee the 2016 Community Shield between Manchester United and Leicester City at Wembley next month, the Football Association has confirmed.

The South Yorkshire whistler will take charge of the traditional curtain-raiser to the domestic season when FA Cup winners United take on the Premier League champions on Sunday, August 7 (KO 16:00 BST).

He will be ably assisted by Stephen Child (Kent) and Lee Betts (Norfolk), while Bobby Madley (West Yorkshire) has been assigned fourth official duties.

The Sheffield Wednesday supporter was also on electronic board duties for the 2014 FA Cup semi-final between Wigan and Arsenal, as well as both the Capital One Cup and FA Cup finals in 2015.

And Pawson is looking forward to returning to the national stadium for the eagerly-awaited opener to the 2016-17 campaign.

He told the FA’s website: “It’s a great start to the new season for me, obviously I’m really excited to be back at Wembley.

“Leicester had such a great season and went on to be champions, so it makes for a very exciting game against a Manchester United side with their new manager and new signings.

“It’s the curtain-raiser to the new season and it’s a game that everybody watches.”

Team member: Pawson was an additional assistant referee to Martin Atkinson for two group games and a last-16 tie during the European Championship (Picture from BBC Sport)

David Elleray, chairman of the FA’s Referees Committee, added that Pawson and his team was “carefully chosen” and have “the skills and experience” to handle “what should be a fascinating and entertaining football match”.

The 94th edition of the Community Shield, which raises funds for community-based initiatives across England, will be broadcast live on BT Sport.

The game will represent Jose Mourinho’s first competitive outing since replacing Louis van Gaal as United boss and, just like at Soccer Aid in June, he will be up against Ranieri, who masterminded the most unlikely of title successes for the Foxes last term.

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